Night Patrol
by Tynesider
Summary: What should be a normal night for Elora becomes a bitter reminder. Oneshot.


_Tick! Tick! Brrrrrrrrrr!_

Elora's book fell from her hands as the alarm trilled the hour. It slammed shut on the floor, losing the page she was up to, but the frustration she should have felt was overpowered by another. With a groan she sauntered over to the alarm and silenced it, then looked hopefully to the hands. Her wish was denied. 9 o'clock; time to go on patrol.

She grabbed her cloak, took up her lantern, and with a sullen march made her way down the steps and to the front door. Through the glass she could see the ever-thickening gloom, and with a groan of discontent she lit the lantern. Summer Forest wasn't exactly threatening in the dark, but wandering in the shadows of the many trees, the hazy moonlight above burning the edges of the leaves as they rustled in the sharp, irregular breeze, it was...disturbing, but this was a job that had to be done. If any of the critters were stranded outside their homeworlds when the portals went off, left alone in the cold and dark, there'd be hell for her to pay, and while traipsing around in the night was far from an ideal it was infinitely better than the alternative, so with another sigh she flung open the door and wandered out into the gloom.

She started the same place she always did: outside Glimmer. The broken bridge was not something to be negotiated in the peak of darkness and probably not in darkness at all, but still she tiptoed across its hastily reconstructed floor, only speeding up when she felt her hooves clack the safe, solid stone and the faint light of the open air dragged her out of the tunnel. The clearing was as serene as always, with the stream and its attached pool glistening in the light that burned from the distant arch of the Glimmer portal, only darkened by the shadows of two Gemcutters sat together on the edge of the bank. Elora wandered over to them, and the clanking of her lantern against its staff drew their heads upwards.

"Hello," one of them said.

"Hello," Elora replied, giving a slight smile. From her new vantage point she could see that they were holding hands.

"Can we help you?" the Gemcutter asked, tenderly stroking the other's hand with his thumb.

"It's time to turn off the portals," she said, "So I'm afraid you have to go home."

The Gemcutters let out a whine.

"Can we have five more minutes?"

"I'm afraid not."

"Just this once?"

"No can do, sorry. I get it in the neck if the portals go off and everyone isn't home, so you'll have to go now."

"Oh, alright," the Gemcutter sighed. Still holding hands, they stood up and hopped onto the raised platform, but didn't jump through the portal. Elora was about to bark another order when she heard them talking.

"I've really enjoyed tonight," the other Gemcutter said, "Thanks for taking me out."

"You're welcome," the first said shyly, "Would you like to do this again sometime?"

"Do I really need to answer that question?"

They sweetly smiled at each other then, still holding hands, jumped through the portal. Elora gave a smile of her own, then remembered the time and turned for the bridge.

The main plateau of Summer Forest was equally resplendent in the moonlight, but it was difficult to appreciate as she wandered in the shadows of the hills. She held the lantern a little higher to pierce the gloom, and discovered two shadowy figures sat atop one of the mounds, looking out over the lake.

"Hey!" she shouted at them, and they turned to look at her.

"Yeah?"

"The portals are going off in a few minutes, so it's time to go home."

The shadows looked at each other, exchanged a few nods, then one of them said,

"Okay."

They stood up and began to pick their way down the hill. Both were stumpy figures and struggled with the stairs, but one still held back to help the other. Elora tapped her hoof impatiently, but her irritation disappeared when the duo hopped down the final step and were illuminated by the lantern. One of them was an Idle Springs foreman, the other an Idol Springs hula girl; both were looking fondly at one another. They locked hands as they walked across the grass, and quietly bid her goodnight as they rounded her and leapt through the portal, smiling. She smiled too.

The rest of the plateau was empty, so she crept around the lake to the walls of the fort, fished a key out of her pocket and shoved it into the well-concealed lock in the stone. The sound of cogs creaking echoed out as she turned it, and with a groan the hidden door opened to reveal a pitch black corridor. Without hesitating she scuttled down it, listening to the door creak closed but refusing to look back, eyes locked forward and facing the lantern's light at all times. In the narrow gap the clack of her hooves was deafening and the darkness claustrophobic, but she grit her teeth and kept going until she pushed through the door at the bottom of the staircase and climbed it to stand on the grass of the fort's ringed courtyard. The dark and luminous beams of the Hurricos and Sunny Beach portals collided with one another to create a surreal contrast of light, one which never failed to unnerve her, but she was quickly distracted by the sight of two Electrolls sat on the step of the Hurricos portal, who she swiftly wandered over to.

"Hello," she said, stepping in front of them. They squinted at her from behind their thick glasses.

"Hello?" one of them said nervously. She reached up and adjusted her glasses several times, as did her companion. "Sorry," she said, "I just can't quite see you. Can you, sweetie?"

"I'm afraid not, honey," the other said, still fiddling with his glasses.

"It's alright," Elora said, "I'm just here to tell you that it's time to go home."

"Oh, are you Elora?"

"Yep."

"Oh, okay," he gave a respectful nod, "We'll be on our way then. Goodnight."

"Goodnight."

Elora turned and walked away, but on a whim turned back to see if she would witness something similar to what she had seen twice before. She wasn't disappointed. The Electrolls were stood up, holding each others hands, and though their conversation was out of earshot the blushed smiles on their faces told their story. She was nursing a small blush of her own by the time they dived back through the portal, but it only lasted as long as it took her to remember her job wasn't done and that the darkness was thickening, and she took off again at a canter.

A scout of the alleys surrounding Ocean Speedway drew a blank, and reassured that her nightly work was almost done she strode onto the grassy embankment that the Aquaria Towers portal sat atop with a spring in her step. At first she spotted nothing and in delight almost turned and left, but a flash of lilac caught her eye in the nick of time. Sat in the gaps between the huge white pillars was yet another duo, this time a pair of seahorses, one with a small coronet atop their head. Elora craned her neck up at them, then cupped her hands over her mouth and called,

"Hey!"

The seahorses jerked around in shock, but calmed when they recognised her face.

"Oh, hello Elora," the crowned seahorse said.

"Evening, Jeremiah," Elora nodded respectfully, "It's a bit late for you to be out, isn't it?"

"Oh, y'know, I just like to get out of the Towers and onto dry land every now and again."

"Uh-huh," she grinned, "With a friend, no less."

Jeremiah gave an awkward grin, which Elora noticed.

"Oh! Special friend, is it?" she chuckled. This time his companion blushed.

"Don't tell Dad," he pleaded.

"Relax, your secret is safe with me," Elora said, "So long as you get back through that portal right now. They're going off in a minute, and if I end up losing my job because of you I may be tempted."

"Deal."

Holding his companion's hand, Jeremiah leapt down from the wall and slithered over to the portal, giving Elora a nod as he went past. She returned the gesture and turned to go, but walked slow enough to hear their conversation.

"I had a great time," his companion said, "And I'd love to do this again sometime."

"Me too," Jeremiah said. Elora silently laughed. She could sense his thumping pulse even from here. "So, when can you next..."

"Home, horsey!" Elora shouted.

"Oh, alright," he sighed, "Spoilsport."

Elora turned and gave him a cheeky wink, which Jeremiah rolled his eyes at before taking the fin of his love and leaping into the portal with her. Elora watched their figures shrink into the deep blue haze of the arch, and as she did she could have sworn she saw her peck him on the cheek, and though she wasn't sure she still walked away with a thin smile stretched across her lips.

Now the darkness was at its peak, the moon low-hanging overhead and expanding the shadows to their maximum reach, but tonight they didn't faze her. She strode through every single one, right up against the thick black of the walls and hills and trunks as she picked her way back home, too lost in her thoughts to register the rustle of leaves and hoot of awakening owls. She'd done this job on many nights, met many people to order around, but not once had she ever gone out to discover every last person had a partner. No lone stragglers wandering around, soaking up the ambience or wallowing in self-pity, just groups of lovebirds and nothing more. It made her think, hard enough to ignore the oppressive darkness itself. What was with all the couples? Was it near Valentine's Day or something? Possibly. When it was eternally summer it was easy to lose track of the time, but she was fairly certain that day had been and went, so what other explanations were there? She shrugged, side-stepping the gnarled trunk of an aged tree. Maybe she was just getting older. She could certainly remember when Jeremiah was no higher than her waist, yet there he was mostly grown up and out courting. Just like all the other animals, and just like her friends too.

Memory after memory came flooding back, impairing her senses as she moved for a blurry haze that she thought was her front door. Hunter and Bianca, they were together; Bentley and Sheila had visited as one a couple of times; Sgt. Byrd had a fledgling relationship with some hummingbird, if she remember rightly, and even Zoe had been a bit preoccupied lately with someone whose name she couldn't remember. She trampled up the stairs, squeezing the wick of her lantern's flame to extinguish it. Like all of those creatures she had seen all had a companion. All except her.

She hung up her cloak and checked the clock. Bedtime. Yawning, she snuffed out the lights of the living room and descended upon her bedroom, using what little light remained to grab the bedcovers and pull them up just enough to slide under them. She rolled onto her side like she always did, but before she could close her eyes she noticed something she had never noticed before: the emptiness of her bed. Large enough for two people but only ever occupied by one, and inevitably she had slid over to one side and created the yawning void she now saw, a void she wouldn't have cared about had it not been for tonight. She rolled onto her back and stared at the ceiling, observing the patterns created by the shadows mingling with the moonlight. How many of those people she had seen would be alone tonight? How many of her friends would? She knew the answer: none. Everyone except her would have someone within arms reach, and while that alone didn't bother her the memory it created did. She didn't have to be in this position, feel like she currently felt, but she had blown her chance. If only she had seized it when it was in front of her, but she hadn't and now it was gone. It had been utterly avoidable, but she hadn't acted on her instinct at the time and had regretted it ever since, and never more so than she did right now.

"Spyro," she whispered, closing her eyes, "Why did I let you go?"

* * *

**New story! :D I don't think this is one of my better efforts, but it's been a welcome change from what I've been up to lately.**

**What am I doing getting involved with shipping, eh? *rolls eyes* Not that it's the first time. I'm terrible at avoiding it no matter how much I claim to sidestep it. Also, way for me to turn a nice story all depressing and such. Well, it wouldn't be me without a heaping teaspoonful of misery, would it? :D**

**Reviews are, as always, greatly appreciated.**


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